c/backyard-storage

5

amyh12•1d ago

The side door on my metal shed literally just fell off yesterday

I went out to grab my lawnmower yesterday afternoon and the whole side door on my beat up metal shed just came off the hinges. One of the pins rusted through over the winter I guess and the door just sagged and dropped. This is the same shed I got from a guy on Craigslist three years ago for like 80 bucks. I thought I got a deal but now I'm wondering if it's even worth trying to fix because the frame around the door is all bent up too. I ended up just leaning the door against the side of the shed for now and hoping it doesn't fall over onto my dog. Has anyone ever tried those aftermarket replacement doors for those basic metal sheds or should I just cut my losses and look for something sturdier?

1

emery10•2d ago

Just realized my cheap resin shed was a fire hazard

I bought this plastic shed from a big box store like 3 years ago and thought I got a steal at $250. After a hot summer here in Phoenix, I went out back and noticed the wall panels were warped and the metal roof was actually touching the side. My neighbor who does HVAC pointed out how the sun was basically melting the thing and said if I had a short in an extension cord out there, it could catch quick. Has anyone else had this issue with those budget plastic sheds?

26

williamhenderson•3d ago

Visited my buddy's shed in Phoenix and saw a wall of rubbermaid bins with labels...

I stopped by my friend Mark's place last weekend in Phoenix, he's got a 10x12 shed packed with tools and camping gear. What caught my eye was how he had about 15 clear plastic bins stacked on metal shelving, each one labeled with a sharpie and masking tape. He said it took him a whole afternoon to sort everything out after a monsoon flooded his old cardboard boxes last summer. Has anyone else dealt with humidity ruining their storage containers, or am I overthinking this?

2

felixm29•4d ago

Finally built a shelf that didn't collapse after 3 tries this weekend

I was in my backyard last Saturday trying to stack heavy pots on a cheap wire rack I bought at a garage sale, and when the whole thing buckled and sent a ceramic planter crashing onto the patio, I knew I had to build something sturdier out of treated lumber, so I measured twice, used deck screws instead of nails, and it held up through a thunderstorm that night; has anyone else switched from store-bought racks to building their own?

9

ray_sullivan•6d ago

Why nobody talks about pressure-treated vs cedar for outdoor shelving

I built two identical storage racks last spring, one with pressure-treated lumber and one with cedar, and after a wet summer the cedar one warped so bad I had to rebuild it while the treated one still looks like new, has anyone else had better luck with cedar holding up?

13

nancy_king29•6d ago

Just hit 100 different totes in my backyard and I think I have a problem

I was moving stuff around last weekend to get to my winter gear and decided to count all the plastic totes I got stacked along the back fence. Hit exactly 100 of them, mostly the big 27 gallon ones from Home Depot. Half of them are full of old camping gear and holiday decorations I haven't touched in like 3 years. Anybody else realize they went overboard with storage containers and need to just purge stuff instead of buying more totes?

8

wendy_lee48•7d ago

Shoutout to the cheap plastic shed I ignored for 4 years

I spent $600 on a wooden shed from Home Depot back in 2019 thinking it would look nicer. After 2 winters of warped doors and a leaky roof, I finally swapped it for a $250 resin model from Lowe's. The plastic one has been dry as a bone through 3 straight weeks of rain here in Portland. Anybody else learn the hard way that looks don't always beat function?

-3

zara_sanchez•8d ago

PSA: Don't waste $200 on those 'weatherproof' plastic sheds

I bought a cheap plastic shed from a big box store last spring and it's already falling apart. Spent $200 on this thing thinking it would keep my lawn gear dry through the winter. After one good storm the roof cracked and the walls started bowing out. The locking mechanism broke off after 3 opens. Now my mower is sitting outside getting rusty. I should have just built a simple wooden shed from scratch for a bit more money. Has anyone else had luck with those metal sheds instead?

11

robinp89•8d ago

My shed roof caved in last week and I learned a hard lesson about snow load

I built my backyard shed 3 years ago in Buffalo, New York, and never thought about how much snow it could hold. Last Tuesday we got a foot of heavy wet stuff and I heard this loud crack around midnight. Went outside with a flashlight and the whole roof had buckled inward, splitting the plywood right down the middle. Turns out I used 2x4 rafters on 24 inch centers, which is way too weak for the snow we get here. Now I'm tearing it down and rebuilding with 2x6 rafters on 16 inch centers, plus a steeper pitch. Has anyone else had a roof fail on a backyard structure, or am I just the unlucky one who skipped the load calculations?

18

grantw41•8d ago

Total waste of money on that plastic shed kit

I spent $800 on one of those resin shed kits from a big box store thinking it would be a quick weekend project. Turns out the walls warped after one hot summer and the floor buckled by fall. Should have just built a simple wood frame myself for half the cost. Anyone else had a plastic shed fall apart on them?

13

murray.robert•9d ago

I used to think those plastic deck boxes were a waste of money

For years I just piled my garden tools and hoses in the corner of my yard in Denver. Every storm I'd be out there picking up shovels and rakes from the mud. My neighbor got one of those big resin deck boxes from Lowe's last spring and I laughed at him. Then after a hailstorm in July I spent an hour untangling a hose from a muddy bush and I cracked. I grabbed a 120 gallon box on sale for 80 bucks. Honestly it's a game changer. Everything stays dry and I can actually find my pruners now. Has anyone else tried those smaller snap-on shelf kits that go inside these boxes?

29

kai_burns73•9d ago

Learned a trick with old pallets for shed shelving

I was tired of my shed being a pile of boxes on the floor, so I grabbed a free pallet from behind the grocery store. After breaking it apart, I screwed the planks right into the studs as simple shelves. Has anyone else tried repurposing pallet wood for garage storage?

13

nelson.wren•9d ago

My shed went from 'hoarder cave' to 'tiny home' in just 3 weekends

Seriously, I opened the door last Saturday and I could actually SEE the floor. Took me 6 trash bags, a trip to the dump, and like $40 in shelf brackets to get there. The secret was just pulling EVERYTHING out onto the lawn and only putting back stuff I'd used in the last 2 years. My neighbor walked by and asked if I got a new shed, haha. What's the one thing you guys kept that you have NO use for but cant throw away?

15

blair_chen81•11d ago

My attempt at a vertical shed shelf turned into a tower of chaos

I decided last Saturday to build a tall metal shelf system for my 8x10 shed in Boise, thinking I could stack all my paint cans and garden tools up high. Well, I miscalculated the weight on the second shelf and the whole thing tipped over, sending three half-full cans of latex paint crashing onto my lawn mower. Cleaned it up with kitty litter, but now I'm wondering if anyone has found a sturdy wall-mounted rack that actually holds up without drilling into every stud?

6

cole_murphy•11d ago

That $300 'premium' shed lock I impulse bought on Amazon

Paid $300 for this fancy electronic shed lock with fingerprint access. Worked fine for 2 months until a spring rain fried the circuit board and I had to cut the latch with a sawzall to get my tools out. Anyone else fall for a pricy storage gadget that just made things worse?

28

brooke_taylor44•12d ago

That $250 weatherproof lockbox was a total waste

I bought a fancy weatherproof lockbox for my shed keys back in March. The seal failed after just two months, and water got in anyway, rusting the whole thing. Cost me $250 and I could have just used a $15 hardware store lockbox with a plastic bag inside. Has anyone else had this problem with those expensive outdoor key storage options?

13

erickelly•12d ago

I told my buddy he was wrong about drainage gravel. Turns out I owe him an apology.

My buddy Tom told me to use 3/4 inch clean gravel for the base of my 10x12 shed pad instead of the crushed stone I had picked out. I argued with him for a solid 15 minutes saying the crushed stone would compact better. Three months after building it, I got a nasty rainstorm and the crushed stone held water like a sponge. Now I have to tear up the whole pad and redo it with clean gravel. Should have just listened to him from the start. Anyone else have a friend who was right all along about a storage project?

21

morgan.jason•14d ago

The day I realized my shed was basically a swamp

Three years I been storing my lawn stuff in there, wondering why everything rusted. Then last spring I actually paid attention during a heavy rain and watched water pool up under the floorboards. Whole time the slope of my yard was dumping runoff right under the base, no wonder my trimmer looked like a relic.

6

robinp89•14d ago

Hit 37 empty plastic pots behind my shed yesterday

I was clearing out that gap between the shed and the fence. Kept thinking I'd find a snake or something. Nope. Just a mountain of black nursery pots from the last 4 years. I pulled out 37 of them and still had room for more under the loose board. How do they even get back there?

14

smith.elliot•16d ago

Why I switched from plastic to metal shed shelving

I spent two years using those cheap plastic shelving units from the big box store in my backyard shed. Finally replaced them with a used metal garage shelving system I found on Craigslist for 40 dollars. The plastic ones sagged badly after a single winter of storing paint cans and garden supplies, not even close to the weight limit they claimed. Anyone else find that plastic shelving just doesn't hold up in a damp shed over time?

25

samrodriguez•16d ago

Hit the 300 pound mark in my shed and realized I need better shelving

So I finally added up all the weight I've got crammed into my 8x10 backyard shed. I got curious after adding a third set of metal shelving units from Lowe's last weekend. I just grabbed a scale and started weighing bins and boxes. Ended up at 312 pounds total, which surprised me because the shed itself is just sitting on a gravel base with some pavers. I never really thought about the ground shifting under all that weight over time. Now I'm wondering if I should pour a small concrete pad or just spread the load out better with some plywood underneath. Has anyone else had their floor start to sag or settle after piling up too much stuff?

31

nathankim•16d ago

The day I realized my shed was a giant junk trap

Last weekend I needed my winter tires out of the shed and I couldn't even get to them. I had to move 3 bags of old garden soil, a broken rake, and some half-empty paint cans just to open the door halfway. That's when it hit me I was just shoving stuff in there with zero plan for 5 years. My neighbor Bob walked over and asked if I was running a garage sale and that was the wake up call. Anyone else have that moment where you looked at your storage space and felt totally embarrassed?

20

david_reed22•17d ago

Hit 15 different shed configurations before I found one that worked for my yard

I kept trying those premade plastic sheds from the big box stores, but none of them fit the weird slope in my backyard. After sketching out 15 layouts on graph paper, I realized a lean-to design against my garage wall gave me 40% more useable space for half the cost. Has anyone else had to scrap a bunch of plans before landing on the right setup?

33

matthew371•18d ago

My uncle swore by rubbermaid bins in the shed but I went with black totes instead

He told me the clear ones would let in too much light and my tools would rust, but after two winters everything inside the black totes got mildew and I had to toss half my gear. Has anyone found a tote that actually seals tight against moisture?

25

kai_chen2•18d ago

Finally saw the light on those plastic deck boxes after my 3rd one cracked

I used to think those resin deck boxes from the big box store were good enough for storing my garden tools. Then last winter, the 64-gallon one I bought in September split right down the side after a freeze. Did I just get unlucky, or is cedar the only real option for outdoor storage that lasts more than a season?